As part of efforts towards fire safety awareness within the ministries enclave, the Ministries Fire Service station in Accra, has organized a sensitization programme for staff of some government agencies.
They include the Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Roads and Highways and the Controller and Accountant General’s Department.
The workers of these agencies were taken through fire safety rudiments in case of an outbreak.
These include evacuation and fire prevention exercise at the office.
District Commander of the Ministries Fire Station, Divisional Officer II Naomi Ofori Adubea, indicated that the training was part of efforts towards protecting government assets.
“For the government property to be safe from all fires, we personnel of the ministries Fire Station have taken upon ourselves to make sure that the ministerial enclave and its environs are free from all fires. According to ACT 537 of 1997, the main objective of fire service is to prevent and manage undesired fires. That means fire service does not sit down for the fire to rage before it fights it, but rather fire service prevents fires from occurring. And should it occur, we are ready to fight it.”
She shared some fire tips with the various offices.
“They should not overload their electrical sockets, and they should switch off and unplug all electrical appliances when they are not in use. Also, they should not run electrical cables under the carpets in order not to cause sparks when there is friction as a result of walking on them. We also said they should keep storage and working areas free of trash and they should keep flammable liquids stored in a tightly closed container and away from sparks producing sources. Electrical Appliances, equipment which will not be used over a long period should be turned off and plugs removed from sockets”.
The ministerial staff were further admonished to consider various fire prevention activities in their homes.
“We advised that each and every one should have a fire extinguisher in their home which will serve as a first aid firefighting appliance before we get to their various homes. Also, we said those who keep empty cylinders in their homes should rather fill them because the empty cylinders are more dangerous when they are in a fire than filled ones.”
The service had earlier this year trained some fire wardens for hotels in the capital as part of its mandate.
These wardens who are the staff of the various hotels volunteered to undergo training in fire drills, fire service evacuation procedures among others.
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